I Heart HGTV Blog

24 Fun + Festive Holiday Nail Art Ideas From Instagram

Related To:

Lights, ornaments and wreaths are already likely mainstays in your Christmas decorating arsenal. But what if you want to "decorate" your nails? With the festive season upon us, it's time to start planning your special holiday-themed mani/pedi. I've combed through Instragram to find the best of the best in holiday nail art. Here are my favorite ideas to inspire your seasonal manicure:

1: Winter Sparkle

This Christmas manicure feels like a sparkly, winter wonderland. Cover a white or light-pink base with a glittery silver polish on your nails' tips to create the same effect.

2: Holiday Sweater

Featuring typical patterns that you might find on your favorite seasonal sweater, you could mix it up and do different patterns on each nail, or carry one theme across all of your nails.

3: Snowy Trees

Paint the tips of your nails white to create a similar snowy scene. You can feature Christmas trees on each nail, and include lights or ornaments to add a bit of color.

4: Red + White Stripes

This red and white manicure alternates between solid and striped nails. It looks like beautiful red and white wrapping paper that you would find under the Christmas tree.

5: Simple Snowflakes

Blue and white polish is the perfect backdrop for snowflakes. Create a different shape on each nail to represent the idea that no two snowflakes are alike.

6: Candy Canes

Paint an adorable candy cane on each nail to get into the Christmas spirit. You can alternate between the stripe of the candy cane and an actual candy cane on each nail.

7: Santa's Belt

8: Festive Hues

This simple design creates alternating green and red moons on the tips of your nails. On your fifth nail, add rhinestones and baubles for extra bling.

9: Glittery Ornaments

This manicure is inspired by colorful Christmas tree ornaments. Simply use a Christmas-themed color palette of red, gold and glittery red to create a similar look.

10: Reindeer

Paint on some adorable reindeer to get you into the Christmas spirit. If you don’t want to go all in on the nail art, you can choose to do it on just two of your nails, and use a Christmas-inspired hue on the rest.

11: Peppermint Candy

This manicure will make your nails look like peppermint candy. Create the stripes on each nail, or alternate with a red or green base polish.

12: Pink Snowflakes

If the standard red and green Christmas palette is not your favorite, you can still create your own unique holiday manicure. These pink and white snowflakes are a fun update on a more traditional snowflake design.

13: Topped With a Bow

This manicure makes each one of your nails look like a present. A bow drawn on each nail captures the Christmas vibe perfectly.

14: Alternative Palette

This tan, black and white manicure pairs traditional snowflakes and reindeer with a tribal pattern and hearts.

15: B+W Christmas

With a matte-black base, you can create fun Christmas scenes on each nail. This manicure is a subtle hat tip to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

16: Santa's Beard

This manicure features both Santa's face and suit. Use white polish to recreate Santa’s beard and black and gold polish to finish off the rest of his suit.

17: Gold Icicles

This is a sleek look that could last all winter long. A matte-black base is topped off with sparkly, gold icicles.

18: White + Gold

This simple manicure is a chic option. Use a white base and draw Christmas symbols, like gingerbread men and candy canes, on each nail. A gold polish is a great choice, but a silver polish would also work well.

19: Diagonal Stripes

This is another simple manicure for anyone who is not super artistic. Use a red base polish and draw some diagonal stripes with either a white or a silver polish.

20: Starbucks Holiday

This manicure was inspired by Starbuck's red holiday cup. The undulating green and white lines are reminiscent of the logo with red and green accents.

21: Tartan Plaids

You can recreate the look of tartan plaids with this seasonal nail art. Red and black works great, though this would also work well with red and green.

22: 3-D Nails

With this holiday nail art, your manicure comes out looking like a decorated Christmas tree. Use each nail as a base for your tree (with green polish) and adorn it with "ornaments" that include a variety of baubles and rhinestones.

23: Grinch Inspo

This intricate nail art is inspired by the movie Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You can paint the Grinch himself across several nails, and stick to a red and white theme on your remaining nails.

24: Green Sparkle

For a simple, no-nonsense holiday manicure, consider using a polish like this green, sparkly hue.